South Bend's Former police chief is now fighting back against the city, alleging racial discrimination and defamation.
Former Chief Darryl Boykins is threatening to sue over the wiretapping investigation that cost him his job.
Boykins wants the city to pay up, claiming the mayor forced him out and then ran his reputation through the ringer.
Former Police Chief Darryl Boykins's attorney Tom Dixon says Mayor Pete Buttigieg's actions following his client's demotion left him no choice but to sue.
"You don't take a guy who has a 28 year stellar, flawless career and the highest reputation in the community in law enforcement and run him through the ringer like that," says Boykins's attorney, Tom Dixon.
The tort claim filed Tuesday is the first step in the process to file a lawsuit.
It alleges racial discrimination, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
"I believe that there were opportunities for the Mayor to step back from the continued pattern of defamation and he sort of stuck to his guns and continued on that process and kind of left us in this position," says Dixon.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg met with the Common Council in a closed-door executive session Tuesday afternoon.
The mayor told FOX 28 he couldn't say specifically what was discussed, but a notice sent out before the meeting said it would be about legal matters.
"There's important issues that we had to discuss. They're sensitive so they were discussed in executive session. it's confidential what happened in the meeting, but I will say it's really important for the administration and council to be in a constant dialogue," says Buttigieg.
Buttigieg acknowledged the tort claim filed by Boykins, "I can tell you that we're aware of the letter, that we're reviewing it and that it will be handled by legal channels," he said.
Common Council member Henry Davis Jr. says he's not sure yet how the city will proceed.
"We're clearly in a situation where we're going to have to dig our heels in and figure out what our next move is as a city. Obviously people are filing these claims because they feel they have the ability to do those things," says Davis.
This is the latest of six tort claims filed in the past week regarding the phone recordings investigation.
On Friday, the commander of Metro Homicide, three police officers, and an officer's wife all filed claims.
The city has 90 days to take action, that could include offering some sort of solution, or the city could reject the tort and just say, 'go ahead with your lawsuit.'
